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Number of UK adults taking drugs attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has increased 20-fold since 2010, with the most dramatic increase among women, a major new study shows.
Researchers found that in 2010, just 0.01% of Britons over the age of 25 were receiving ADHD medication, but by 2023 this figure would have soared to 0.2%, the highest relative increase of any country studied.
Experts led by Oxford University academics said that “the number of women in this age group has increased by more than 20 times and the number of men has increased by 15 times.”
The findings, which analyzed electronic health records in the UK, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, highlight the changing landscape of neurodiversity as adult diagnoses continue to climb in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trend was particularly pronounced among women, with use rising from 0.01% to 0.2% among women aged over 25, echoing a surge across the UK.
The change has been attributed to a growing understanding of how the disease manifests itself differently in women.
Boys often exhibit “hyperactivity” symptoms, while females often exhibit inattention. The study highlights that this gender-related socialization has since led to a generation that was neglected in childhoodonly to seek diagnosis in adulthood.
However, the study also raises questions about long-term treatment. Despite an increase in prescriptions, only 31% of UK patients are still taking their medication after a year. In Germany, this figure dropped to a low of just 15%.
Such a high dropout rate suggests that many people struggle to find the right balance of treatment. Interestingly, those who persisted tended to have a history of antidepressant use, suggesting that patients with more complex mental health needs were most likely to receive support.
This clinical complexity suggests that ADHD rarely exists in a vacuum. However, despite the rising numbers, the study’s researchers stressed that the disease remains grossly under-treated, compared with the estimated 3% of adults globally who suffer from it.
The report concludes that while not everyone needs medication, the current gap between global prevalence and local treatment rates suggests that many patients are still not getting the clinical help they need.
These findings are as NHS Facing a crisis in neurodiversity services. As waiting lists for assessments reach record lengths, many patients in the UK still face… years of waiting Confirm the diagnosis and get any support.
Without urgent investment in diagnostic services, a “significant proportion” of adults currently missing out on treatment will continue to face significant barriers to work and mental health stability, health officials warned today.
The Lancet authors called for a radical rethink on how adult neurodiversity is managed, warning that the current “catch-up” in prescribing is just the tip of the iceberg of a larger public health challenge facing the UK.